How to Defend Cash in under 5 Minutes
Don't waste time trying to delete Big Tech ideology. Just overwrite it
Paying subscribers can listen to me reading this here
I’ve now spent almost a decade defending the physical cash system (see 10 Reasons to Fight Cashless Contagion), and one thing stands out to me. It’s fairly easy to scare people with stories about digital payments surveillance and censorship, but this ‘bad things will happen’ story can seldom overcome the digital progress narratives most people have programmed into their heads.
Typically, when I’ve been on a mainstream show on Sky News or the BBC, the interaction will go like this:
Presenter: so what bad things can happen in a cashless society?
Brett: X, Y, and Z bad things will happen in a cashless society
Presenter: Yes, that is concerning, but isn’t digital just so convenient? Surely we can’t stop progress?
Ok, I’m paraphrasing there, but that’s basically how the interaction goes. Whenever I see those presenters defaulting into that story, I get all existential. Deep down I want to say to them: “A society that seeks short-term convenience will incrementally imprison itself in a long-term corporate cage of comfort, and forget how to live free. And, after a while that cage of comfort will cease to feel comfortable. Not only will you remain discontented, but you’ll now be locked into that state of being”
I mean, I could say that, but it’s not like the BBC - or any mainstream scene for that matter - can process something like that. Trying to deconstruct dominant progress narratives in about 30 seconds on radio or TV is pretty damn hard. It takes years of practice to just see through the progress narratives, and years more to figure out how to deliver the critique fast.
So, here’s one short-cut I’d like to share with you today. If you spend hours showing why tech accelerationist stories are bullshit, it’s a bit like trying to delete a very large file stuck in someone’s brain. It’s actually much quicker to simply overwrite the file by inserting a different one. Rather than fighting within an old frame, you give them a new frame, one that allows them to receive, and buy into, your vision without resistance.
I typically to do this through analogy, because that’s the quickest delivery method for the new frame. So, I’ll leave you with an example of me doing this in Poland a few months back. Here’s how I defend cash in under five minutes.
Want more ammunition to fight against the War on Cash?
I written a lot about cash and how to protect it. If you want to go deeper, check out my book Cloudmoney.
Your 5 minute response is excellent!! I struggle with quick responses re:social media use, health management, etc. so it is incredibly helpful to see you do it in real time. I highly recommend your book to anyone reading this post. The other word I love, which you use in the book, that I try to add because it intrigues people is that using cash is a form of rebellion. My translation - It’s a “fuck you” to corporations and fintech. I get “yeah, that’s true, but….” Your analogy to stairs is perfect. I am going to use that one from now on. It’s simple and easy to understand & accept. No arguments against stairs. During 9/11, the stairs saved lives.
As always, thank you Brett! Keep doing what you’re doing!!!!
I can very much recommend Brett's book!